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Patented Oct. 25, 1892.

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No.484,843. lmentedoorh25,189.2.

NI-TED STATES PATENT GFFICEQ' CHARLES S. BAVIER, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

VALVE AND JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,843, dated October 25, 1892.

Application filed September 14, 1891. Serial No. 405.686. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. BAVIER, a citizen of the United States of America, and residing at New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valves and Joints, of Which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in valves and joints, and it is intended, first, to provide a joint-ring (or seat) which shall accommodate its shape to the changes of form of the disk and diaphragm when the same are distorted and warped by change of temperature or other causes; second,to provideajointring in combination with a suitable reinforcin g tensional ring and suitable construction of the valve diaphragm and disk, so that the mere pressure of the disk shall force home the ring into place on the diaphragm without collapsing the ring or exerting undue strain on the diaphragm, said ring after it is forced home being free to vary its form within sufficient limits to accommodate itself to distortions of disk or diaphragm.

In the present practice with large valves the ring or seat is fixed immovably on the valvediaphragm; but the temperatures of modern steam engineering have become very high and the changes of temperature to which the valve is exposed very great. These changes warp and distort both disk and diaphragm,

and as the ring is fixed on the diaphragm it,

also may be distorted, and in any event cannot move to accommodate itself to the distortion. Valves are tight when when cold, but when heated they leak, or vice versa; also, the seats are secured to the diaphragm by bolts or screws; but the bolt-holes cannot be exactlycentered. Oonsequentlytheseatisout of true, and when the disk is brought down it tilts and the valve leaks. Therefore I have devised a ring of ductile and yielding metal, which has the joint edge free to move latererally, and I reinforce this ductile ring with the tensional ring, which is not fixed on the diaphragm, but is free to move except for such resistance as is offered by the ductile ring. By tensional ring I meana ring having sufficient tensile strength not to elongate under the strains applied to it, and sufficient tenacity and flexibility so that when it is drawn out in one direction it will draw in in another direction. This property is possessed in great degree by highly-tempered or elastic bodies, such as steel springs. If, for illustration, such a spring be formed in a continuous circle and force be applied at the extremities of a diameter, the spring will draw outward along the direction of the force and will draw inward at the extremities of the perpendicular diameter, the spring now assuming an elliptical shape. This tensional ring serves the twofold purpose, first,of reinforcing the duetile ring, so that the same cannot be collapsed or elongated by the pressure of the disk; second, of transmittingits tensional stresses from one point to another of the ductile ring, so

that, supposing the disk to be warped out of atrue circle, the protuberance of the disk, pressing on the ductile ring, will distend the tensional ring at that point, and the elastic ring, according to the known properties of tensional bodies, will draw in the ductile ring at the flattened parts of the disk, the length of the circumference of the tensional ring remaining the same notwithstanding its change of shape. I combine this compound ring with a conical disk having a hard periphery, which cannot be grooved by the ductile ring and whose conical surface acts on the principle of the wedge to produce a great lateral pressure on the ductile ring for the purpose of making a tight joint, but without undue pressure on the valve-diaphragm.

To admit of forcing home the ductile ring, I form on the diaphragm a conical frustum, the shape of which is so graded that the resultant of pressure is directed against the side and not against the bottom of the ductile ring. The operation of forcing home the ductile ring when the cone is thus formed becomes one of drawing and thinning the metal of the ductile ring, and not one of compression, and it can be performed by pressures which will not injure the valve-diaphragm, whereas it would not be practicable to compress the ring even at pressures which would crush the valve-diaphragm; also, a very soft ring, as of lead or the soft alloys, cannot be used in valves adapted to modern steam practice, since the temperatures have become so high as to injuriously affect such rings and soften them so much that the steam which works under the ring would blow it out of its recess when the disk is raised. Therefore a metal, like copper, which is not aflected by the highest temperatures known to modern practice, must be employed, and a configuration of the cone which will gently draw and not compress the ring becomes indispensable. I accomplish these various objects by the constructions hereinafter explained, and illustrated in the drawings, whereof- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the action of the teusional ring. Fig. 2 is a View, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a valve with my rings. Fig. 3 is a plan view on the line m m of Fig. 2, looking down upon the diaphragm. Fig. 4 is a detail showing the conical frustum on the diaphragm and the rings before they are forced home. Fig. 5 is a detail of the same parts as are shown in Fig. 4, but after the rings are forced home. Fig. 6 is a view of a valve, partly in section and partly in elevation, and having a re-entrant disk.

Referring to Fig. 1, A and B are the two parts of a flange-joint, as a flange pipe-joint, a and b being the pipes. S S are the bolts by which the flanges are drawn together. On the flange A is formed an inverted conical frustum d, concentric to the pipes a b, and on the flange B is loosely set, concentric to the frustum V, a teusional ring e. be made of steel or other tensional metal, and should be of such thickness that it will'ofier considerable resistance to change of shape, and its diameter will be alittle greater than the diameter of the bottom of the frustum (1. Now when the flanges A B are brought together by the bolts 8 s, evidently the frustum d will exert a great 'lateral pressure on the ring e, so as to form a tight joint between the periphery of the frustum V and the ring W. Now suppose the flanges A and B are not parallel, but are tilted a little, so that the line of contact between the frustum d and ring 6 becomes an ellipse. Then when the flange A is advanced toward the flange B the frustum 01 will distend the ring e in the direction of the major axis of the said line of contact and the teusional stresses will be transmitted around in the ringe to the minoraxis thereof, drawing in said ring there, so as to make contact all around the frustum d, and said frustum d will have taken such a position in the ring e that the line of contact will, as said, be an ellipse and of the same circumference as the originalcircle of contact. Clearly, if the riuge were fixed on the flange B it could not move in obedience to such elastic stresses and the compensation could not take place. This combination, withthe members of a compression-joint, of a conical frustum and a movable teusional ring is of great utility in all flange-joints, since it overcomes the defects arising from the impossibility of drawing the two flanges exactly parallel by bolts and nuts and allows the flange-joint to act as a universal joint within limits, and the principle is also Saidriug e may applied to valves in the manner to be hereinafter explained, referring to Figs. 2 and 6. In said figures, A represents the valve-body, here shown as a globe-valve, though myjoint can be applied to any form of compression-valve. B is the diaphragm between the inlet and out let ports a a. and having the usual port I) to connect the said inlet and outlet ports. I form the port b with a beveled valve-seat b to fit the conical valve-disk K, so that the valve might be used notwithstanding injury to the seat-rings. Now concentric with the port b I form on the diaphragm B a conlcal frustum C. The slope c of this frustum C is made at such an angle with the direction of the movement of the valve-disk K that the resistance of the slope is directed against the side and not against the bottom of the ductile ring G, which is supported on the said conical frustum C, and the slope of said frustum is also to. be such as experience shows will draw the metal of the ductile ring without undue pressure on the diaphragm B. Said frustum C may project above the top surface of the diaphragm B, but should be lower than the top of the ductile ring G when the same is home to place. Concentric with and external to the frustum 0,1 form on the diaphragm B an overhanging shoulder d, and the slope of the said shoulder d may be parallel to the slope of the frustum 0, thereby forming a groove d with parallel walls and rounded bottom e. The joint-ring consists of a ring G, of soft copper or other ductile metal which is not affected by the temperatures at which the valve is to be used, of an internal diameter a trifle greater than the diameter of the top of the conical frustum (J and of a greater height than the said conical frustum. The said ring G should have a-sufficient height to give to its upper edge a certain pliability when the lower edge is fixed in the diaphragm. The said ring G may be of thickness at little less than the width of the groove d, and such a ring is readily formed by cutting a section from a copper tube and annealing it. The bottom g of the ring G is rounded or beveled outwardly, as seen in Fig. 3, and the topg may also be rounded. Without or within the ring G is set with a very snug fit (so that fric tion will hold it in place) a tensional ring H. This ring H may be well made of steel and has suflicient thickness to offer considerable resistance to change of shape.- The height of ring I-I should be such that when the rings G H are in place the top of ring H will be alit tle below the top of ring G. Said ring H may be set, as said, either within or without ring G, Figs. 2 and 6, and in either case that top edge which is contiguous to ring G is beveled, as at h. The lower part of the same side of ring H is also beveled, as at It, so as to give clearance between the rings G and H, and also so that the point of contact 71.2 between said rings shall be near the top of ring G, in order to give a good leverage for the ring H to move the ring G. The valve-disk K is formed as an inverted conical frustum, the smaller base is of the frustum being of a little less diameter than the ring G. The periphery K of the disk K is made a hard surface, which will not be cut or grooved by the ring G, and said disk K is movably attached in any usual manner to the spindle L, which spindle L is threaded and passes through a threaded bonnet M and has a hand-wheel N, all in the usual manner.

The said parts co-operate as follows: .The tensional ring H having been put tightly on the ductile ring G (and for this purpose the latter may be expanded into the former) and set so that the top of ring H is a little below the top of ring G, the lower edge of ring G is set on the upper part of the slope of the conical frustum G. Then the bonnet, with the spindle and disk K, having been put on and in the valve-body and the bonnet secured, the disk is screwed down by the handwheel upon the top of the ductile ring G. The pressure of the disk is twofold, both lateral and downward; but the ring H prevents the expansion or collapsing of the ring Glaterally, and consequently said ring G descends the slope of thefustrum (J, said fustrum 0 being so shaped as to gently draw and expand the ring G, so that the same is pressed down to the bottom of the groove d without undue pressure on the diaphragm B. Evidently the shoulder h prevents the drawing of ringG out of the groove 01. Now continuing the pressure on the top of said ring G, its upper edge is collapsed and turned over the bevel h of ring H, thereby holding said ring in place on ring G, and now, if further pressure is exerted by the disk K on the ring G, evidently the conical periphery of disk K will exert a great lateral pressure on ring G, which will tend to elongate; but the ring H will resist this expansion, and consequently the lateral pressure of the disk on ring G will tend to produce a tight joint. Now suppose that from any cause the disk K is distorted. Then when it is compressed on the ring Gthepressure of its protuberance is transmitted bythe ductility of ring G to the tensional ring H, which distends at that point, at the same time drawing in the ductile ring G Where the disk K is flattened and making a tight joint all around the disk K.

In place of shaping the disk K as an inverted conical frustum, I may shape it as a re-entrant conical depression, as at 0, Fig. 6. The diameter of the base of this depression 0 will be a little greater than the diameter of the ductile ring G, which ring G will be drawn home and held by the conical frustum C and shoulder d, in the manner hereinbefore described; but the tensional ring H will now be set within the ring G and will rest on the top of said conical frustum O. Theouter top edge of ring H will be beveled at h, so that the ring G may be collapsed over said bevel in the manner hereinbefore described, and the lower part of the outer side of ring H will be also beveled, as at h, for clearance. The operation of forcing home the ring G and the manner of compensation of the rings GHare the same as has been hereinbefore explained.

Evidently I can combine my tensional ring H with a ductile ring G, which latter is secured to the diaphragm B otherwise than by means of the frustum O and shoulder d, the essential elements of my invention being a movable tensional ring set within or without a ductile ring that has its compression edge free to move a little, according to the stresses of the elastic ring.

Now having described my improvement I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in compression-joints, of a conical frustum on one compression-surface and a tensional ring set with capacity of lateral movement on the other compressionsurface concentric to the said frustum, substantially as described.

2. In valves and in combination with a valve-disk, a ductile ring, a conical frustum inthe valve-body, adapted to enter said ring, and an overhanging shoulder parallel to the slope of said frustum and circumferential thereto, substantially as described.

3. In valves, the combination of a conical valve-disk, a ductile ring fixed by one edge on the valve-body, and a tensional reinforcing-ring set on the ductile ring and capable of lateral movement, substantially as described. I

4. In valves, the combination of a conical valve-disk having a hardened periphery, a ductile ring set in a groove in the valve-body, and a tensional ring set on the ductile ring and capable of lateral movement, substantially as described.

5. In valves and joints, the combination of a ductile ring, a reinforcing tensional ring on the ductile ring, and a conical frustum adapted to enter and expand said ductile ring,substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this llth day of September, 1891, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES S. BAVIER. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

BERNARD J. ISEOKE, JOHN C. WALL. 

